Anderson Cooper

When disaster strikes,and we peer into our televisions for the latest breaking news, it’s usually Anderson Cooper’s steely blue eyes peering back. Since joining CNN in 2001, Cooper has risen within the network’s ranks to anchor the acclaimed Anderson 360,while becoming the preeminent voice of reason throughout the decade’s most notable tragedies. From Hurricane Katrina and the earthquake in Haiti to the BP oil spill and the revolution in Egypt (where he was physically assaulted while on duty), Cooper’s unflinching pursuit of the facts and his relentless dedication to quality journalism have helped make a boundless world just a little bit smaller. His new syndicated daytime talk show, Anderson, premiered in September, which raises the question: Is Anderson the new Oprah?

Appeal

Male news anchors aren’t traditionally known for their model looks, especially not on CNN (Wolf Blitzer, Larry King and Aaron Brown, anyone?). But Anderson Cooper has single-handedly broken the mold. Thanks to his piercing blue eyes, silver hair and chiseled facial features, the former model (Cooper modeled for Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein when he was younger) is consistently voted one of the sexiest newscasters on television and was even named one of People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive in 2005. But don’t get too excited, ladies; it’s widely believed that the notoriously private Cooper is gay, despite his refusal to discuss his sexuality in public.

Success

There is arguably no more recognizable or trusted face in television news than Anderson Cooper’s. Since joining CNN a decade ago, Cooper -- who first began as the channel’s weekend anchor and then moved to prime time following the war in Iraq -- has made a career of hopping from one global hot spot to the next while covering the world’s biggest news stories both at home and abroad. As host of Anderson Cooper 360, Cooper’s unflinching coverage of Hurricane Katrina, the earthquake in Haiti, the BP oil spill, and the Egyptian revolution (just to name a few) have earned him a slew of Emmy awards. Cooper has also won a Silver Plaque from the Chicago International Film Festival for his coverage of the Bosnian civil war, a National Headliners Award for his tsunami coverage, a Bronze Telly for his work on famine in Somalia, a Bronze Award from the National Educational Film and Video Festival for a report on political Islam, and a National Order of Honour and Merit from the Haitian government for his coverage of the earthquake last year. Cooper also regularly contributes segments to 60 Minutes and authored a best-selling book, Dispatches from the Edge. Still, his ubiquity is set to reach soaring new heights with new, syndicated daytime talk show Anderson, which is already being snatched up by affiliates nationwide.

Anderson Cooper Biography

Anderson Cooper is used to being in the public eye. The son of writer Wyatt Emory Cooper and noted renaissance woman Gloria Vanderbilt, Cooper appeared on The Tonight Showwhen he was just 3, and as a child accompanied his parents to parties with guests like Charlie Chaplin, Lillian Gish and George Plimpton. His father died of heart failure shortly after, an event that would have a huge impact on Cooper’s life. Feeling the urge to earn his keep despite his family’s considerable fortune, Cooper began modeling when he was 10, but quit after being propositioned by a seedy photographer. The budding journalist began his globetrotting during the second semester of his senior year at The Dalton School, when he went to South Africa, where he contracted malaria and had to be hospitalized in Kenya.

After graduating from The Dalton School in 1985, Anderson Cooper continued his education at Yale, where he studied both political science and international relations. Cooper’s senior year was marred when his brother leaped to his death from the balcony of their New York apartment. Despite the tragedy, Cooper returned to Yale and graduated in 1989. To this day, Cooper maintains that his brother’s suicide was the catalyst for his career in journalism.

Anderson Cooper Plants The Seeds For A Career In Jounralism

After college, Anderson Cooper spent two summers as an intern at the CIA before arming himself with a video camera and a fake press pass and traveling to Burma and Somalia. He edited his video diaries into short reports and sold them to Channel One, a closed-circuit classroom news network. Cooper continued to travel to places that could match the pain he was feeling internally -- Thailand, Vietnam, Rwanda, and Bosnia included. Thanks to his work with Channel One, Cooper was eventually hired by ABC, making him one of its youngest correspondents ever. Unfortunately Cooper was assigned to the little-watched World News Now, and when ABC offered him the job as host of the reality show The Mole, he jumped at the chance despite winning an Emmy for his coverage of Princess Diana’s funeral.Anderson Cooper Is Hired By CNNDespite the stigma that comes with hosting a reality TV show, CNN took a chance on Anderson Cooper and hired him in 2002, where he would join Paula Zahn as cohost of its morning show. After returning from assignment in Afghanistan, Cooper was asked to fill in for Aaron Brown as host of NewsNight, and the rest is history. In September 2003, Cooper became anchor of the provocative and in-depth evening newscast Anderson Cooper 360, which quickly catapulted the atypical anchor to international fame.

Anderson Cooper Rises To The Occasion

The year 2005 proved to be a breakout one for Anderson Cooper, as he covered such notable events as the tsunami in Sri Lanka, the death of Pope John Paul II, the Cedar Revolution in Beirut, and the wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla. But it was his on-location coverage of Hurricane Katrina that catapulted Cooper to superstardom. His visceral, impassioned reporting from New Orleans, in which the anchor often looked bewildered and upset by what was happening around him, was a welcomed antidote to the stiff-tied anchors on other networks. Cooper was credited for ushering in a new breed of “emo-journalism,” and with it became CNN’s newest prized possession. That same year, Anderson Cooper 360 was extended from one hour to two, and Cooper had officially become the hottest property in news television.

Anderson Cooper Is Assaulted In Egypt

Throughout his career, Anderson Cooper has never shied away from precarious situations, covering nearly every major news event, often from the scene. Most recently, his efforts after the BP oil spill in the Gulf and in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti have shown just how dedicated he is to his craft. But even Cooper was unprepared for what happened when he went to Egypt to cover the uprising against former president Hosni Mubarak. Cooper and his crew were attacked on consecutive days by pro-Mubarak protesters. After being punched, kicked and having bottles thrown at them, Cooper tweeted: “Situation on ground in Egypt very tense. Vehicle I was in attacked. My windows smashed. All ok.” When Cooper finally managed to leave the country, his reports were scathing, and he repeatedly came under fire from media critics after openly calling President Mubarak a “liar” on the air over a dozen times. According to some, Cooper’s heart-on-his-sleeve style journalism had finally gone too far.

Anderson Cooper Gets His Own Daytime Talk Show

Despite his courageous work on the field, Anderson Cooper has tackled tamer assignments with just as much aplomb. As a correspondent for 60 Minutes, Cooper has interviewed everyone from Drew Barrymore to Lady Gaga. He’s hosted CNN’s Planet in Peril documentary, CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute, and even filled in for Regis Philbin on LIVE! with Regis & Kelly. That’s why it came as no surprise when it was announced that Cooper will host a syndicated daytime talk show starting in fall 2011. Warner Bros. announced that Anderson will play to its host’s strong suits by focusing on “social issues, trends and events, pop culture and celebrity, human interest stories and populist news." Cooper has also signed a new deal with CNN and plans to continue to host Anderson Cooper 360 well into the future. With Oprah leaving the airwaves, Cooper has positioned himself as the next big name in daytime syndication. Coupled with his marquee status in nighttime news, we may have our very own king of television.